250F to Husky/KTM 150

NJKawi913
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NJKawi913
Anyone larger guys (190-200lbs) here switch from a 250F to a 150 two stroke, and have feedback on it, specifically low end torque feeling. I love 125's but don't have the skills to ride on the pipe around the whole track and they lack the low end toque to lug my ass around the corners
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yz133rider
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yz133rider 12/20/2021 9:01am
12/20/2021 9:01am
I haven’t made the switch but have ridden my buddies 19 150 a few times when I was over 200.

Thing absolutely rips. Easier to clear jumps on than some 250fs I’ve ridden ( 19 rmz250 older gen crf250s)

Feels like a bicycle that still really rips.
It was hard to ride stock - very narrow power.
But after using the jetting specs from the tech section on here from AJ it absolutely transformed it.
Make sure it’s a 21 or newer as the forks are massively better.

If you get older than a 21 spend the money to get the forks update to 21 specs at least.
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OUMX117
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OUMX117 12/20/2021 9:04am
12/20/2021 9:04am
I have a 150. I don't use it for moto though. It's a woods bike. I am 6'4" 210lbs and it pulls me around just fine. I typically ride my TX300 but the 150 is our backup/loaner and I ride it often. I used to ride moto a lot and I can see no issue with riding one on the track with proper suspension setup.
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MPJC
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MPJC 12/20/2021 10:36am
12/20/2021 10:36am
I had a 250 sxf and now have a TM 144. Totally different animal - it rips if you ride it right but it won’t lug you around anywhere near like a 250f. It’s definitely more forgiving than a 125 but it’s not a massive difference. It’s light, fun, and engaging to ride but don’t expect fast laps if you can’t carry corner speed. I weigh about 205 and ride mostly in sand. I love the 144 but if I really cared about being as fast as possible (I don’t - I’m 50 and just having fun) I’d still be on a 4 stroke.
Bruce372
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Bruce372 12/20/2021 10:44am
12/20/2021 10:44am
I am 240lbs and my 150 will pull 3rd in a lot of corners on deeply ripped loamy track.

The aer forks on the older two austrian bikes are fine because they came with a check plate instead of a midvalve and don't suffer from that initial harshness seen on the 4 stroke forks that need the front end to hold up.

If you follow the advice of upgrading to 2021 settings, that means you'll need to buy all the internal parts.
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FGR01
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FGR01 12/20/2021 10:46am
12/20/2021 10:46am
The basic character of the bike is not much different between a 125 and 150. Put another way, a 150 will feel much more like a 125 than it does your 250F. It's still a small bore 2-stroke which means you have to rev and shift a lot compared to a 4-stroke.
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yz133rider
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yz133rider 12/20/2021 10:49am
12/20/2021 10:49am
Bruce372 wrote:
I am 240lbs and my 150 will pull 3rd in a lot of corners on deeply ripped loamy track. The aer forks on the older two...
I am 240lbs and my 150 will pull 3rd in a lot of corners on deeply ripped loamy track.

The aer forks on the older two austrian bikes are fine because they came with a check plate instead of a midvalve and don't suffer from that initial harshness seen on the 4 stroke forks that need the front end to hold up.

If you follow the advice of upgrading to 2021 settings, that means you'll need to buy all the internal parts.
I’ve spent a good amount of time on an 18 and a 19 ktm 2 stroke and the forks are harsh as hell.

21s are a dream next to those.
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Bruce372
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Bruce372 12/20/2021 11:00am
12/20/2021 11:00am
Bruce372 wrote:
I am 240lbs and my 150 will pull 3rd in a lot of corners on deeply ripped loamy track. The aer forks on the older two...
I am 240lbs and my 150 will pull 3rd in a lot of corners on deeply ripped loamy track.

The aer forks on the older two austrian bikes are fine because they came with a check plate instead of a midvalve and don't suffer from that initial harshness seen on the 4 stroke forks that need the front end to hold up.

If you follow the advice of upgrading to 2021 settings, that means you'll need to buy all the internal parts.
yz133rider wrote:
I’ve spent a good amount of time on an 18 and a 19 ktm 2 stroke and the forks are harsh as hell. 21s are a...
I’ve spent a good amount of time on an 18 and a 19 ktm 2 stroke and the forks are harsh as hell.

21s are a dream next to those.
I am sorry you couldn't set your forks up.

Funny thing is, every time I go to the track, I talk to lots of people fast or slow with stock forks and no complaints.
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yz133rider
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yz133rider 12/20/2021 11:13am
12/20/2021 11:13am
Bruce372 wrote:
I am 240lbs and my 150 will pull 3rd in a lot of corners on deeply ripped loamy track. The aer forks on the older two...
I am 240lbs and my 150 will pull 3rd in a lot of corners on deeply ripped loamy track.

The aer forks on the older two austrian bikes are fine because they came with a check plate instead of a midvalve and don't suffer from that initial harshness seen on the 4 stroke forks that need the front end to hold up.

If you follow the advice of upgrading to 2021 settings, that means you'll need to buy all the internal parts.
yz133rider wrote:
I’ve spent a good amount of time on an 18 and a 19 ktm 2 stroke and the forks are harsh as hell. 21s are a...
I’ve spent a good amount of time on an 18 and a 19 ktm 2 stroke and the forks are harsh as hell.

21s are a dream next to those.
Bruce372 wrote:
I am sorry you couldn't set your forks up. Funny thing is, every time I go to the track, I talk to lots of people fast...
I am sorry you couldn't set your forks up.

Funny thing is, every time I go to the track, I talk to lots of people fast or slow with stock forks and no complaints.
🙄
Indy mxer
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Indy mxer 12/20/2021 5:58pm
12/20/2021 5:58pm
FGR01 wrote:
The basic character of the bike is not much different between a 125 and 150. Put another way, a 150 will feel much more like a...
The basic character of the bike is not much different between a 125 and 150. Put another way, a 150 will feel much more like a 125 than it does your 250F. It's still a small bore 2-stroke which means you have to rev and shift a lot compared to a 4-stroke.
I agree 100%. I ride a 21 KX 250 for my primary bike. I bought a low hour 19 KTM 150 as a second bike.
I only weigh 155 and I had FC do the suspension, it's awesome now.
The bike is fun and has more low end than a 125, which is good for me. It's a blast to ride, but obviously it's much more work than a 250f.

All that said I love the bike, but I wouldn't want it for my only bike.

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cmotodad
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cmotodad 12/20/2021 7:43pm
12/20/2021 7:43pm
60+ expert and have a 20 KX450. We have a 150 that is so much fun to ride. Speed is down but it allows me to really concentrate on what I should be doing with my technique. Improves my corner speed on it but the heavier bike creates an issue when going back.
Leeham
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Leeham 12/20/2021 11:42pm
12/20/2021 11:42pm
Bruce372 wrote:
I am sorry you couldn't set your forks up. Funny thing is, every time I go to the track, I talk to lots of people fast...
I am sorry you couldn't set your forks up.

Funny thing is, every time I go to the track, I talk to lots of people fast or slow with stock forks and no complaints.
Ill take "things no one has ever said" for 500.

They are okay if you have only ridden KX450 TAC forks. Those are worse than pre 21 AER forks.
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Richy
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Richy 12/21/2021 2:02am
12/21/2021 2:02am Edited Date/Time 12/21/2021 2:03am
From a bigger dude, I found there was a little more margin for error than a typical 125, but it isn't a great enough difference from a 125 to not have to ride it like one.

I didn't expect it to be, it's not a dig and they are still awesome, it's just worth remembering while they are happier to pull from a little lower it isn't night and day and the extra 19cc isn't a get out of jail free card for sloppy riding (the only kind I do) or being in the wrong gear like a four stroke.

What was crazy was how much peppier the modern small bore two strokes are than the old mid-00's bikes.
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Indy mxer
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Indy mxer 12/21/2021 5:05am
12/21/2021 5:05am
Bruce372 wrote:
I am sorry you couldn't set your forks up. Funny thing is, every time I go to the track, I talk to lots of people fast...
I am sorry you couldn't set your forks up.

Funny thing is, every time I go to the track, I talk to lots of people fast or slow with stock forks and no complaints.
Leeham wrote:
Ill take "things no one has ever said" for 500. They are okay if you have only ridden KX450 TAC forks. Those are worse than pre...
Ill take "things no one has ever said" for 500.

They are okay if you have only ridden KX450 TAC forks. Those are worse than pre 21 AER forks.
Lmao! Well said.

I had a 16 KX 450 with those forks. Even Factory Connection couldn't make them work for me. lol
My 19 KTM 150 forks were pretty bad as well. FC made them a lot better. Pretty happy with them now.
wrc777
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wrc777 12/21/2021 5:52am
12/21/2021 5:52am
They still hit pretty hard and don't have a lot of power until they get on the pipe. It will climb out of 3rd and get on the pipe though and it never falls on its face like a newer CR125 for instance. The newer 250Fs are not really brimming with low end torque either. You also have to tune a carb which can be a challenge. You also have to fix the jet block gasket before you attempt to tune the Mikuni but it is only about $10 to fix it.

The '21+ forks don't have near the sting when you flat land that the pre-'21 do. They might even be better than a Showa spring fork in that regard. I don't think you can tune that out on a pre-'21 without changing to spring cartridges (KYB or MXtech). You cannot change a few parts to upgrade to the '21 fork. You have to just buy the '21 fork.

Forcing yourself to learn to ride on the pipe will make you a better rider and a small 2 stroke (125 or 150) will do that. It is still a small 2 stroke, and if you ride it lazy it will be slow. For me getting and keeping it on the pipe is addictive just from the sound. It makes me want to reach for that hit so I can feel and hear the rush. On a 4 stroke I can just ride around and feel like I might be going fast even though I am not.

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